The Obama family is mourning a companion who spent more than a decade at the center of family life, including four years in the White House.

Former President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that Sunny, the family’s Portuguese Water Dog, died Tuesday after 13 years with the family.

Obama shared the news in a personal tribute:

Sunny joined the Obamas in 2013, during the second term of the Obama presidency. She became the family’s second Portuguese Water Dog, joining Bo, who had arrived at the White House in 2009 and died in 2021.

In his tribute, Obama remembered Sunny as athletic, energetic and nearly impossible to slow down. She jumped over hedges on the South Lawn, chased squirrels and birds, and was happiest when the family ran around with her or settled in for a long belly rub.

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She also had a fiercely loyal side. Obama said Sunny watched over Bo and seemed to understand that her older companion was not always as alert as she was.

The family’s announcement quickly drew attention from people who remembered seeing Sunny during the White House years:

The Associated Press reported that Sunny died Tuesday after spending 13 years with the Obamas. She came to the family in 2013 while they were living in the White House, and the announcement arrived five years after Bo died in 2021.

The outlet highlighted the contrast between Sunny’s breed and one of her best-known quirks: despite being a Portuguese Water Dog, she did not like getting wet. That was only one piece of a personality Obama described as energetic, protective and deeply attached to people.

Obama said Sunny loved Malia and Sasha, even when they disturbed her naps. She also followed members of the family’s team as they worked, apparently determined to take part in whatever was happening around her.

That personality made Sunny more than a private family pet. She became a recognizable White House presence, appearing at public events, in family photographs and alongside Bo during the administration’s second term.

The archived Obama White House still features Sunny’s first official photograph on the South Lawn from August 19, 2013. The image, taken by White House photographer Pete Souza, marked her arrival as the newest member of the presidential family and introduced her to the public.

Sunny soon appeared alongside Bo in official photographs and at public events. The two dogs became familiar enough that their appearances had to be coordinated around the White House calendar.

That public role never displaced the family relationship at the center of Obama’s tribute. His remembrance focused less on ceremony and more on the everyday habits that made Sunny part of the household for 13 years.

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News outlets around the country carried the family’s announcement Wednesday:

Obama’s remembrance was filled with the kinds of details that make a family dog unforgettable: a sloppy drinker, a reluctant swimmer, a constant shadow and a companion who never lost her appetite for adventure.

He described Sunny as loyal, sweet and spirited to the very end.

The tribute closed with the family imagining that she had been reunited with Bo, once again keeping watch over her “big brother.”

For anyone who has lost a dog after years of shared routines and memories, the Obamas’ grief will feel painfully familiar.

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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